Flushing apparatus



c. METCALF. FLUSHING APPARATUS.

, APPLICATION FiLED JUNE 22. I915.

Patented Mar. 9, 1920.

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" UNITED STA To all'wlwm itmay concern 'orrAnLEs ivrrircAnF,ors'rnne'ron, ILLINOIS. i

I FLUSHING immune l 3c 1t known that'l, CHARLES M'n'roALr, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Streator, inthe county of La Salle andState of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in FlushingApparatus, of whichthe following is a specification.

Thisinvention relates to improvements in flushing apparatus forwaterclosets, water systems, 7 and other supply tanks, and particularl y toflushing apparatus of the siphon yp The object of the invention is toprovide a simple, reliable and efiicienttype of' appae *rat'us ofthis-character, which. dispenses with the use of packing, which issubstantially proof against leakage, or wastage, -wh1ch secures aperfect connection ofthe' parts without the use of ground 01nts orexpensive fittings, and which will operate with oertainty on eachflushing action to discharge" the water from the tank down to a pointwithin a certain distance from the bottom thereof. I c I The inventionconsists of the features of construction, combination and arrangementphonic actionof parts herein fully described and claimed,

Fig. l is a sectional plan view on the line ll of Fig.2, v p

Fig. 5 1s a vertical sectlon on an enlarged scale. through the plungercylinder, showing in dotted and full lines the valves in open and closedpositions, respectively.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a water supply tank or system,within which is arranged a cylinder 2. Thiscylinder is verticallydisposed and has a lower open end 3 elevated a short distance above thebottom es of the tank 1. The cylinder 2, as clearly shown in Figs. 2and3, is provided with an upper end or wall 1 which is located anappreciable distance below the upper edge or rim of the cylinder proper,said wall 4:

being provided with an outlet opening 5 for connection with the short orintake'leg 6 of Specification of Letters I 'atent. 1 Patentedlllatt),1920. -Applieation filedJune 22. 191 5. S eria1 mam.

Y a siphon tubef7, the longer or discharge leg 8 .of which communicates"at its lower end W1tl'1 a discharge or overflow pipe 9;

long or discharge "leg 8 with a bushing 10 having a collar 11 to bearagainst the upper surface ot'the bottom a of the tank, said bushingbeing ,eXteriorly threaded at its low-er'e'nd-to receive a clamping nut12 engaging'the lower, side of the tank bottom 4,

whereby the siphon tube is clamped inposition. Thepipe 9 telescopicallyreceives the end of the leg 8} and is connected with the bushing 10 by athreaded coupling member Any other mode of connecting the dis-' chargeor overflow pipe 9 with the siphon tube may, however,* be en'iployed. zv Arranged to operate within the cylinder 2'isfa'vertically'movableplunger 14.. This plunger eom'prisesadisk or head provided on -oppositesides of its center with a pair of waterfiow ports or passages 15controlled by pivoted segmental shaped valves 16, each having adepending projection 17, operating as a weight to normally hold thevalves closed. As clearly appears in Fig. 5 from the dottedflinesindicating the open position i. of the valves 16, each of said dependingprojections 17 has an extension at its lower end adapted to engage theunderside of the plunger 14=to limit'the upward swing of said valveswhen the latter are opened thereby prevent possibility of he valves 16being swung to sueh, a position that they would not close under theaction of gravity.

Connected at its lowerend with the plunger disk is a stem-18 having itsupper end extending through and slidable within a guide tube 19 threadedinto the top wall 1 of the cylinder, said stem terminating in an eye .20for pivotal connection with a controlling lever 21 adapted to beoperated by means of apull chain 22 or other suitable actuating means.The plunger when drawn upward through the action ofthe lever 21 raisesthe body of water above it in the cylinder sufiiciently to force thewater over the top of the bend or arch in the siphon tube,

thus starting a siphonic action in the well known way for the dischargeof'the water from thetank through the siphon tube and pipe 9. In'thisoperation it will, of .course, be understood that as soon as thesiphonio action starts, the valves .16 will be opened by and thepreponderating pressure oi' the water below them, so as to permit thewater to flow freely through the'ports from the tank to the siphon tubethrough the plunger cylinder. I p

Arranged about the lower portion of the plunger stem 18 is a coiledspring 2%. 'This spring is made of a'predetermined degree oi stillnessand of such length as to contact at its upper end with the top'wall llof the plunger cylinder and be compressed to a certain extent tov limitthe upwardmovement of the plunger and to cushion such plunger on themovement. T his spring pre- Vents anyobjectionabic violent action of theplunger on its upward motion and also serves the important functionoffpreventing the plunger from rising to an undesirable height, wherethe pressure of therwater i'roni'below would not be sullicientto forcethe valves open, and hence where there would be a tendency. of thevalves to only partially open, thus restricting the outflow of water anddecreasing the eri icieiioy and celerity or tholiushing action; Thebushing 10 so provided-with a passage ,Ql with avlrich comn'iunicatesthe lower end oi a small tube 25, said tube'being connected in the usualmanner'with the tank supplypipe (not shown) and thereby adapted to serveas a refilling tube by which the pool of water in the bowl below isreplenishedai'ter each siphonic action, as will be readily understood. V

By locating the upper wall at of the cylinder below'the top edge ofthelatter; as

shown in the drawings and previously de scrlbed, a small reservolr orvchamber tor water is thereby provided which will, of.

course. be filled each time the water in the tank rises to the level ofthe line 50 m. Consequently, when the plunger is lifted to start thesiphonic action, this water which is retained in said chamber orreservoir will seal the opening in the bushing 19 through which the rod18 extends and may gradually drip through said opening. The ca-. pacltyof the reservoir orchamber at the top of the cylinder for this water isso designed that the opening through which the rod 18 passes will becovered during the entire siphonic action and thereby prevent thepossibility of a break in'the siphon which might otherwise occur by aleakage of air through said opening. By this arrangement, I avoid thenecessity of an air tight fit or the use oi? packing glands wherethc rod18 passes through the top wall of the cylinder, thus minimizing theexpense and at the same time providingan efiicient and effectivearrangement. As will be understood, water will remain insaid reservoirat the top of thecylinder after the level of the water in the tank hasdropped below thetop edge of the cylinder during the siphonic ac- Iclaim g V 1. A: siphon flushing apparatus comprising a water supplytank, a siphon tube hav- Q I 1 a .ing its discharge leg extendingthrough the bottom of the tank, a plunger cylinder having an open lowerend arranged in proximity to the bottom 01"? the tank aneC-OilllYlLll1l1 eating at its upperend with the intake leg oi? thesiphon, a plungeroperating in said cylinder and providedwith segmentalports atdiametrically opposite points therein and 5 having pivotally:mounted, upwardly opening check valves controlling said ports,

contact members carried by the valves and projecting through the portsbelow the plunger, said contact members being ar- 1 ranged to engage themain part of the plungerito limit the upward movementofthe w'alvesbefore the latterreach a vertlcal position, a stem connected wlth theplunger,

operating means connected with the plunger stem, and a cushioning springupon the stem normally seated at itslower end against the plunger andoperative to engage the top wall of the cylinder when the plunger islifted to arrest and cushion the plunger.

2. A siphon flushing apparatus comprising a water supply tank, a siphontube having its discharge leg extending through the bottom of thetank,acollar upon said leg extending through the. bottom of the tank andhaving an enlarged upper end, said on the upward movement of largedupperend being provided with a lat-

